Bali with kids: tips and hints

If you want to introduce your young children to Asia, I reckon Bali makes a good choice. Singapore would be the best in terms of cleanliness and orderliness, but you won’t get the most bang for your buck like you would in Bali 🙂

I found Bali to be the most relaxed and easiest Asian holiday destinations for less than $150 a day (depending on your accommodation, obviously). Since it is basically an extension of Australia, you will be able to find most everyday things that you need there. Plus, with the strength of our dollar, you will get luxury for a lot less. There are heaps of cheap flights to Bali, and though there are also articles trying to persuade readers to ditch Bali, I reckon it will still be one of the most popular places to visit.

So, here are my tips for travelling to Bali with young children – based on my experience travelling with a 10 month old (not yet walking) baby and a 3 year old boy.

Japan: Takayama, Gifu Prefecture

Takayama would have to be one of my top favourite destinations in Japan. We did go to Gujo and Shirakawa-go prior to going to Takayama, but all the photos are on my camera. So here are the highlights of our trip to Takayama:

Hida people village: a collection of original houses from the 16/17th century. We climbed through overgrown paths, across running streams, in thick humid rainy weather, to see some castle ruins. In the hour and a bit we were there, no one else came. It was definitely a memorable and hilarious experience, with the brothers fighting “stick monsters”, pointing out frogs and insects. The castle ruin itself? Not that great 😉

Showa Era museum: a reconstructed scene of what 1950s Japan was like. It was so weird being there as there were things that I had when I was growing up. The water pump on the top right photo? My late auntie had it in her house! It kind of gives you an indication of how much Japan influenced Indo during their occupation.

We spent a great deal of time at the many vending machines scattered around the place. Each time, each person would pick a different drink. Outdoing each other in weirdness. This drink is currently at the top of the list: Yakult with black vinegar. Worst drink ever.

The guesthouse we stayed in celebrated its 3rd anniversary on our last night there: we had impressive sparkles (way better than what is legally available in Australia) and watermelon. It was then when I compared notes with one of our hosts who has a 2yo son, he reminded me so much of my little one 🙂

Our delicious bento lunch boxes, these were around AUD5 each from a convenient shop. The quality is 100% better than some proper Japanese restaurants in Australia!

Takayama also has “old town” areas with shops and private houses. We spent almost all day snooping around the area. On our last night, we treated ourselves to BBQ Hida beef, it was expensive but delicious and memorable. Imagine slices of severely marbled beef, around 100g, for AUD40! We basically ate about 70g of fat that night. Indulgent, indeed 🙂

Until my next post!